Atmosphere at China World Summit Wing, Beijing continues to bring renowned world-class bartenders and their exceptional drinks to cocktail lovers in the city this year, with Andrea Gualdi guesting at the bar for five nights of cocktail magic from 25 to 29 September 2018.
During his visit, Andrea will showcase five of his signature cocktails: Sophia, Dixon, Prosciutto E Melone, Black o the Future and Mex-ita, which have been part of his journey as a bartender.
Sophia is Andrea’s first signature drink, named after Sophia Loren, an Italian actress who has been described as the most beautiful woman in the world back in the day. With this drink, he tried to represent how a kiss from the most beautiful woman in the world will taste like. Sophia helped him win the Global Signature Challenge 2017 for World Class Global finals in Mexico.
Dixon is a bottled cocktail that is inspired by a Vieux Carré, which is the name of the French quarter in New Orleans; Dixon Street is the heart of Chinatown in Sydney. With this drink, Andrea tried to recreate a drink with a Chinese influence. This cocktail was awarded the Australian Bottle Cocktail of the Year 2016.
Mex-ita was inspired by his last journey in Mexico. He combined classic Italian ingredients with some Mexican flavours and floral notes from tea.
Coming from a very small town in north Italy, Bergamo, Andrea spent years at various bars. In 2013, he stepped into Artesian Bar, the winner of the World’s 50 Best Bars, where he learnt that the cocktail, by itself, is just the smallest part of being a bartender. The “behind the scenes” work is actually the most important one. In 2015, he moved to Sydney and joined Maybe Frank restaurant.
In 2016, he entered his first cocktail competition, World Class, taking home the “Bottle Cocktail of the Year” one year after he was nominated “Australian Bartender of the Year 2017” and made top fourth on the global stage in Mexico City.